Our last night at PGIYC

Tonight is the 7th night we've been at the Punta Gorda Isles Yacht Club and we need to move on by Club policy. Jack Andreas' mom was nice enough to sponsor us as a guest so we could stay here.So we don't want to wear out our welcome. Tomorrow we move on to Burnt Store Marina which is about 20 miles from here to spend 2 nights thanks to Cathy Bleakly's auspices. From there we will sail on to Key West where we will make our final prep to head over to the Bahamas for 2 months.

The last 2 days were spent arduously replacing head hoses and replacing valves in our head. The hose for our forward head became extremely difficult when the coupling severed somewhere out of sight. But we were able to snake a line through and by getting into spaces I could barely see we were able to coax the hose through and finish the job. I also found my way into spaces on the boat I only knew of before. Still a few loose ends to finish but better by far. Doing this work myself provides the opportunity to know more about the boat, where things are and how they work.

Tonight Jack and Dora Andreas came by the boat and then we went to dinner in downtown PG. But first we took some pix.

Here is a great shot of Jack and Dora in our cockpit.

And we asked if we could get a rare shot of us that we can use on our boat card. Not sure why we were holding on because the harbor was very peaceful and calm.

And a picture of Jack and me enjoying some of Pennsylvania's finest. Class of 1972.

Many boat chores left to do before we head over to the Bahamas but only a few that must be done. Some can wait, some can be done better at anchor and some will get done at some future date.

Another beautiful evening to be sitting in the cockpit writing this and reviewing the days events. Tomorrow will be 3 months since we threw off the dock lines in Oxford, MD and headed south. What an adventure it has been so far. In spite of the work, the challenges and the hardships the return on that investment has been immeasurable. We have met so many wonderful people, have enjoyed so many great times and seen some absolutely incredible moments. The sunrises and sunsets at sea have been far better than colors on canvas applied by any human.

What is truly amazing is that while we have nothing to do we have so much to do. On many occasions in my previous life I had thought about continuing to be engaged in professional work, but now I can't imagine when I would have the time to do anything. Maybe when we get to the Bahamas it will slow down.